Purple Raiders upset in OAC semifinal

The first time Mount Union head coach Mike Fuline faced John Carroll he wanted to be just like them.

On Thursday night, Fuline wished for that again after the Blue Streaks stunned the Purple Raiders 83-81 in the OAC tournament semifinal game at the McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex.

John Carroll showed no ill-effects of playing its third game in four days -- the last two on the road -- by making all the plays down the stretch, especially from the free-throw line after struggling in the first half. The Blue Streaks hit eight of nine from the line in the last three minutes to give themselves a shot in the final seconds. A three-point play by Joey Vuyancih gave John Carroll an 82-78 lead with 1:15 remaining. Mount Union forced a turnover before splitting a pair of free throws to make it 82-79 with :46 left. Another turnover gave the ball back to the Purple Raiders, who pulled within 82-81 after an offensive rebound and score by Stevie Griffin with :36 on the clock.

John Carroll turned it over for a third-straight time but a wide-open three by T.J. Gillespie spun out and Mount Union was forced to foul. The Blue Streaks only made one free throw to push it to 83-81 with :17 remaining. Mount Union grabbed the rebound and tried to win the game but a three by Cody Dillon was off the mark. Jarrett Ruffin grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled with 1.8 left in the game. Ruffin missed the first free throw then had to miss the second intentionally in hopes of grabbing an offensive rebound and score but the Blue Streaks secured the ball as time expired.

"I'm proud of our effort down the stretch, there's no question about that," Fuline said. "We fought and fought until the end. We got our hands and fingers on a lot of balls, just came up a little short. I give them all the credit for how they played."

[Article continues below]

The Purple Raiders (20-6) had a golden opportunity earlier in the second half with a 69-65 lead, but turned the ball over three-straight times, which resulted in a pair of uncontested layups by the Blue Streaks to tie the game at 69-69 with 5:36 remaining. Stevie Griffin gave Mount Union the lead back with a three on the next possession before the team's battled back-and-forth for the final five minutes. That span featured five lead changes and five ties in a game that featured 17 lead changes and 15 ties.

"No question that was a big moment (the turnovers) because we had hoped to increase the lead coming out of the timeout but give them credit for putting pressure on the ball and we didn't do a good job getting open," said Fuline.

John Carroll (18-10) had the biggest lead by either team in the second half when it went ahead 54-48 in the first three minutes before a 10-0 run by Mount Union put them ahead 58-54. The game stayed within a four-point window for the final 15 minutes, as it did much of the first half when a pair of freshman guards stole the show.

Mount Union's DeAllen Jackson and John Carroll's David Linane got caught in a game of horse in the closing minutes of the half. Linane scored eigth of his 13 first-half points in the final 1:49 while Jackson wasn't going to be outdone and scored all 10 of his first-half points in the last 2:09.

Jackson hit a pair of free throws to tie the game at 38-38. Linane answered with a layup just 20 seconds later. Jackson gave Mount Union a 41-40 lead with a three before Linane nailed a triple of his own for a 43-41 advantage. Jackson tied the game with a pair of free throws before Linane gave the Blue Streaks at 46-43 lead with 16 seconds remaining. Jackson got the final shot of the half and swished a three at the buzzer to tie the game for the 11th time.

But Mount Union finished just 10-of-37 on threes.

"We live by the three and we die by the three," Fuline said. "We are one of the best teams in the country when we shoot the ball well and we really have to struggle when we don't shoot it well. Tonight, just wasn't our night."